Reference

3D Model Export Formats: GLB, glTF, OBJ, STL

Four formats ship out of Trify3D. This page is the single reference every tutorial and feature page links back to — pick the format that matches where the asset is going next.

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GLB for web and game engines
STL for 3D printing
PBR textures baked into GLB/glTF

Four 3D file formats — GLB, glTF, OBJ, STL — compared side by side

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Quick answer

GLB

Web or game engine

glTF

Editing textures in a DCC tool

OBJ

Handing raw geometry to Blender/Maya

STL

3D printing

Format comparison

Format	Best for	Contains	Size
GLB GL Transmission Binary	Web viewers, Three.js, Babylon.js, Unity import	Geometry + PBR textures + animations, packed in one binary file	Smallest — single self-contained .glb
glTF GL Transmission (.gltf + .bin + textures)	Editing in Blender, DCC tools, inspecting individual texture maps	Same data as GLB but as separate JSON + .bin + image files	Slightly larger unpacked, identical payload to GLB
OBJ Wavefront OBJ	Interchange with Blender, Maya, ZBrush, older DCC pipelines	Geometry only (vertices, faces) plus an .mtl material reference	Largest of the four — no compression, ASCII geometry
STL Stereolithography	3D printing — slicers (Cura, PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio)	Triangle mesh only, no color, no texture, no animation	Compact for printing, no UV or material data

Why four formats

Picking the wrong format wastes the whole pipeline

Exporting FBX when Unity reads GLB natively — you pay a conversion tax on every asset.
Sending a textured GLB to a slicer and watching it reject the file, because STL was the only format it wanted.
Handing an STL to a game engine and losing every texture, normal, and roughness map you generated.
Juggling separate single-engine subscriptions, each with its own export quirks, instead of one consistent export menu.

Trify3D keeps it to four formats that cover every real destination

GLB for web and game engines, glTF for texture editing, OBJ for DCC interchange, STL for printing. No promised FBX or USDZ buttons — those are one-step conversions from GLB in Blender or Reality Converter, not formats engines read natively without conversion anyway.

A 3D model branching into four format paths — web, print, DCC, engine

When to pick which

One format per destination

Each of the four formats earns its slot by being the right answer for a specific downstream tool. Here is the call for each.

When to pick GLB

You want one file you can drop into a web viewer or game engine without managing external texture paths.

Best for: Web viewers, Three.js, Babylon.js, Unity import

When to pick glTF

You need to swap, edit, or recompress individual texture maps after export, or version-control assets.

Best for: Editing in Blender, DCC tools, inspecting individual texture maps

When to pick OBJ

You are handing a mesh to a tool or collaborator that expects raw geometry without PBR metadata.

Best for: Interchange with Blender, Maya, ZBrush, older DCC pipelines

When to pick STL

You are sending the model to a 3D printer. STL drops everything except the watertight surface the slicer needs.

Best for: 3D printing — slicers (Cura, PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio)

Who picks what

The right format per workflow

Each format earns its slot by being the right answer for a specific downstream tool. Here is the call for each common job.

🎮

Game developers

GLB into Unity or Three.js — one file, geometry + PBR textures + animations. Unreal via glTFRuntime plugin.

🖨️

3D printing

STL straight into Cura, PrusaSlicer, or Bambu Studio. Run the repair step for thin walls, then slice.

🎨

3D artists

glTF to swap and recompress individual texture maps in Blender, or OBJ for raw geometry interchange.

🌐

Web 3D

GLB is the smallest self-contained format for Three.js and Babylon.js viewers — drop in, render.

In practice

What people actually export

Three honest takes on which format wins for which job.

"For web 3D it's GLB every time. One file, loads in Three.js, no texture path juggling. We stopped exporting anything else for viewer work."

Indie web dev

Three.js portfolio sites

"I print everything I generate. STL is the only one my Bambu slicer likes, so the choice was made for me — but the mesh has to be clean or the repair step eats time."

Resin printer

Tabletop miniatures

"When I need to fix a texture by hand I grab glTF. The maps are separate files so I can repackage just the albedo without touching geometry."

3D artist

Game asset pipeline

FAQ

Export format questions, answered

Which 3D file formats can I export from Trify3D?

Four formats: GLB, glTF, OBJ, and STL. GLB and glTF carry full PBR textures and are the default for game engines and web viewers. OBJ is geometry-only interchange for DCC tools. STL is the slice-ready format for 3D printing.

Should I export GLB or glTF?

Pick GLB when you want one self-contained file for a viewer or engine import. Pick glTF (the unpacked .gltf + .bin + textures folder) when you need to edit individual texture maps or version-control the asset. The mesh data is identical — both follow the Khronos glTF specification (see the official glTF registry at khronos.org/glTF).

Can I get an FBX or USDZ file?

Not directly from the export menu today. For Unity or Unreal, GLB imports cleanly. For AR on iOS, convert GLB to USDZ in Reality Converter or Blender. We document these as post-export steps rather than promising native export buttons.

Do the exports include PBR textures?

GLB and glTF exports carry albedo, normal, roughness, and metallic maps baked in. OBJ and STL are geometry-only by spec, so they do not carry texture data — export as GLB if you need the materials.

Which format do I use for 3D printing?

STL. It is the only format here that slices cleanly in Cura, PrusaSlicer, or Bambu Studio. Export STL, run it through a quick mesh-repair check if the model has thin walls, then slice.

How big are the exported files?

It depends on mesh resolution and texture size. A typical generated mesh exports as a GLB in the low tens of megabytes, with PBR textures baked in. OBJ is larger because geometry is ASCII and uncompressed. STL is compact — it carries only the triangle surface. For web delivery, GLB is the smallest self-contained option.

Can I export at different texture resolutions?

Texture resolution follows what the engine generated. If you need to downscale textures for web delivery, export glTF and recompress the individual image maps — that is the whole point of picking glTF over GLB. GLB bakes the textures in at generation resolution.

Will the exported model open in Blender / Unity / Unreal?

GLB opens directly in Blender (2.8+) and imports into Unity via the GLTF importer. Unreal supports GLB through the glTFRuntime plugin. OBJ is the universal fallback for any DCC tool. STL opens in every slicer and most CAD tools. FBX is the one common format we do not export — convert GLB to FBX in Blender if your pipeline strictly requires it.

Generate and export in one place

Run image-to-3D or text-to-3D, then export GLB, glTF, OBJ, or STL from the studio. One credit pool across every engine.

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